Incompletion Of Conquest Series

In 1797 the governor of Louisiana granted Daniel Boone ten thousand acres of land in Missouri; however, he failed to make the trip to New Orleans to complete the title. He instead became distracted by an opportunity to be appointed chief of the district of St. Charles.(1)

While he was preoccupied with other affairs, squatters intruded on his land. When he finally filed to complete the title, his claim was rejected because of “his failure to complete his title of gift, and his failure to occupy the land claimed.”(2) You see, in the law of homesteading, if a claimant failed to occupy a piece of property for a specified period of time then the land would be forfeited and made available to other settlers.

When I preached on staying the course, I briefly touched on how the Israelites had become tired of fighting, and how they were tempted to allow the Canaanites to live and remain in the land with them. This morning, we will see how the Israelites had actually succumb to temptation and - by their failure to fully occupy the land - had forfeited their right to Canaan. The motivation for this forfeiture was not much different than it was for Daniel Boone.

Failing to Entirely Conquer the Land (Joshua 16:9-10, 17:12-13; Judges 1:27-33)

The incompletion of conquest, and the failure to exercise our God-given right to what God has promised, can lead to losing our blessing. In Hebrews chapter 12 we read, “[Look] carefully lest anyone fall short . . . lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears” (Hebrews 12:15a, 16-17).

Esau was weary when he arrived from working in the field (Genesis 25:29); and therefore, he sold his inheritance and blessing for some bread and a bowl of lentil stew (25:34). If we grow weary in serving the Lord, and begin seeking comfort and fulfillment in the things of this world, and begin serving our own pleasures instead of God’s divine purpose, then we can easily lose our inheritance. Now, keep in mind that I’m not talking about losing our salvation, but losing our calling and forfeiting a blessing.

Let’s take a moment to consider how the Israelites had gown tired and begun serving their own pleasures, and thus failing to occupy their inheritance. Let’s first look at the account of the failure of Ephraim, which is found in Joshua 16:9-10:

9 The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.

We are told that Ephraim had allowed the Canaanites to live among them, and had made them into forced laborers. What was the motivation? They likely reasoned, “Why not let someone else do all the hard work while we take it easy?” I will discuss this some more in a moment. Now, let’s look at the account of the failure of Manasseh, which is found in Joshua 17:12-13:

12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

We read that the children of Manasseh were unable to drive out the Canaanites. Perhaps this was because they had no help from their Ephraimite neighbors who had an inheritance among them (Joshua 16:9). Together they would have had the strength in numbers that was necessary to eradicate the Canaanites. We read, however, that when the Israelites of Manasseh grew strong enough that, instead of putting them out, they too forced the Canaanites into becoming laborers.

Now, we’re going to examine a more detailed account of Ephraim and Manasseh’s failure to occupy the land; and we will find another possible motivation behind their disobedience. This account is found in Judges 1:27-33:

27 However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.

29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.